Four days after
U.S. Steel Corporation (USS) warned customers of its Gary Works facility
that a shortage of iron ore--caused by ice conditions on the Great
Lakes--could result in a delay in servicing orders, Gary Works on Sunday
received the first of several ore deliveries scheduled for this week, USS
said.

Gary Works,
however, will continue to operate at a reduced capacity “as we work to
replenish iron ore inventory levels over the coming weeks,” USS spokesperson
Courtney Boone told the Chesterton Tribune today.

“In the meantime,
we are in contact with our customers in an effort to minimize the impact on
their operations,” Boone added.

On Wednesday, April
2, USS informed customers by letter that blast furnaces and steelmaking
operations at Gary Works had been “temporarily curtailed,” due to
“unforeseen and unprecedented ice conditions on the Great Lakes that is
delaying the transportation of critical raw materials.”

“These severe ice
conditions have not occurred on the Great Lakes for more than three
decades,” USS added.

Passage of ore
carriers had been “prevented” by the ice conditions, although USS noted that
“recent warming temperatures” were in the process of clearing northern
routes.

The company was
also working closely last week with both the U.S. and Canadian governments
“to expedite and obtain priority passage” of its ore vessels, USS said.